


Beautiful Nightmare

by greysweatshirts



Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Murder House
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-04 13:59:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15842730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greysweatshirts/pseuds/greysweatshirts
Summary: "As Violet stared at her rounded belly, she couldn't help but wonder if something a whole hell of a lot more sinister than Tate Langdon had crawled inside of her." Season One. Rating subject to change.





	1. Chapter One

**This is a story...  
**   
**...in which Tate never raped Vivien  
** **...in which Vivien had never gotten pregnant by either Ben or Tate  
** **... in which Violet had never died  
** **... in which neither Ben nor Viven are aware of the supernatural presences in the house  
** **...in which even a child created out of love has the potential to fulfill a terrible destiny.**

**Disclaimer: These characters and the rest of the AHS universe belong to the twisted minds of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.**

Violet had never really paid attention in Biology class. She was smart enough to figure out exactly what she needed to mentally regurgitate in order to get an “A” on exams that she spent the entirety of the period doodling or daydreaming about getting out of the hellhole that was high school. However, she remembered enough to be absolutely, 100% confident that there was absolutely no way she was pregnant. Her reasoning behind this conclusion was twofold: one, that she had not been sexually active with anyone else apart from Tate, and two, that the creation of a baby required two living, breathing parents. Emphasis on living. And yet, every single one of the twelve pregnancy tests that she had taken in the last hour were positive. Every. Single. One. 

The turning of the girls’ bathroom door handle shook Violet out of her mind-boggling reverie and she quickly swept the tests off of the counter and into her backpack. When Leah and her posse strolled in, the only evidence of the ordeal the youngest Harmon had just been through was a faint tremble in her hands as she pretended to check her hair in the mirror. Leah paused as soon as she was right behind Violet, whispering so that only she could hear what was being said.

“Freak.”

And with that, she flipped her hair and proceeded towards the handicapped stall with likely nothing on her mind other than her next coke fix.

Violet let the weight of that word press down upon her. _Freak_. Such an insult would not normally affect her, as Leah had no basis other than malice in her words, but the dozen white sticks lying on top of her history textbook now proved otherwise. Freak. She was a freak.  


* * *

As soon as she burst into the the house’s front door, she headed straight upstairs in order to avoid her mom’s scheduled barrage of questions about her day. She flopped onto her bed, wishing for nothing more than to fall asleep for the rest of eternity. She now knew better than to be surprised when Tate appeared on the bed next to her, enclosing her hand within his and nuzzling her neck.

“I missed you.”

Violet turned her head and gave a weak smile as her light brown eyes met the blond’s dark mahogany ones. 

“I missed you, too.”

She knew that her boyfriend could tell that something was up with her. Violet normally came home from school ranting and raving about the bullshit that she had to put up with at Westfield, with Tate needing to calm her down by sitting next to her and holding her hand before he could even get a word in. The lethargy she was demonstrating today was a far cry from her usual demeanor.

“Do you want to do something?” said Tate, tone even with a hint of caution in his words.

“Not right now. Just be here with me, ok?”

With a nod of his platinum curls, Tate wrapped his free hand around Violet’s waist and pulled her close to him. The familiar smell of wool and cigarette smoke surrounded Violet as she snuggled into his sweater, the tides of sleep already washing over her before she closed her eyes.  


* * *

Violet awoke to the sound of her mother’s voice cascading up the stairs.

“Violet! Time for dinner!”

The teen instinctively ignored Vivien and moved closer to Tate, only to find that he was no longer there. She bolted upwards, wincing at the brief flash of pain the sudden movement brought to her lower abdomen. Said prick of discomfort reminded her of the events of the day and her need to find out more about what was really going on with her.

Begrudgingly, Violet hauled herself out of bed and downstairs to the Harmon’s overly-formal dining room. There, she found her mom and dad as far away from each other as humanly possible, ignoring each other and looking towards her expectantly. Violet sighed and sat in the middle of the table, as any other position would indicate favoritism towards one parent over the other.

“How was your day, honey?” chirped Vivien as she practically threw the mashed potato bowl across the table towards Ben. Her husband did the same with the Brussels sprouts, nearly taking down Violet’s glass in the process. 

“It would be a whole lot better if every meal you two spent together didn’t turn into a food fight.”

Vivien sighed and gingerly inched the roast chicken toward Violet, who was more than happy to serve as the go-between for her parents if it meant sparing her own meal in the process. 

“Tate didn’t show up for his appointment today.”

Violet turned toward her father, trying to conceal her emotions at the mention of the person that she cared about most and he cared for least.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I know we could have used the money.”

Ben’s jaw tightened as he stared down his only child.

“You wouldn’t happen to know why he didn’t, right? Because I told you to stay away from him.”

Violet didn’t answer, heart racing to a crescendo.

“Right?” the doctor pressed on. 

She continued to stare at her feet, cheeks reddening.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Dad.”

Dr. Harmon slammed his fist against the table, the impact of which sending his food flying across the table.

“STAY AWAY FROM HIM!!!”

Rather than crying like any other normal person being faced with such unadulterated anger, Violet let out a short laugh.

“If you’re trying to protect me, it’s a little late for that.”

The words flew out of her mouth before she could help herself. Ben’s face froze. Vivien, watching this scene play out with absolute shock, turned to face her daughter.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Violet gulped, and prepared herself to say the words that would make her a target in the eyes of every baby-crazed ghost in the house, the words that would forever change her relationship with the ghostly boy whose trembling fingers she could feel on her shoulders, the words that would change absolutely everything in her life.

“I’m pregnant.”

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**-greysweatshirts**


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "As Violet stared at her rounded belly, she couldn't help but wonder if something a whole hell of a lot more sinister than Tate Langdon had crawled inside of her." Season One. Rating subject to change.

**Disclaimer: These characters and the rest of the AHS universe belong to the twisted minds of Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk.**

Violet heard a sharp intake of breath behind her, quickly turning around to confirm her suspicions: Tate was gone. She slowly turned back around to face her parents, who looked like they had witnessed a car accident in front of their very eyes. Vivien was shaking like a leaf, while Ben was frozen in place, eyes pointed in the direction of his fifteen year old’s abdomen. At last, he lifted his gaze to her.

“Go to your room.”

Violet hadn’t been ordered to do this since she was ten years old.

“Dad-“

The psychiatrist’s face was blank.

“I said go.”

The teen could feel a heart wrenching sob rising up inside her, but chose to follow her father’s command. She sat on her bed and closed her eyes, opening them to find Tate standing in the doorway. 

As he approached her, she could see none of his usual bravado in his demeanor. All that was left was helplessness and guilt, hands shoved deep in his pockets as if fighting the urge to hurt himself for what he had done.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered, eyes searching hers wildly. 

“I.. don’t know. I didn’t even know that this could happen. That you and I could... Otherwise, I would have made sure we used protection. Did...”

Here Violet trailed off, uncertain as to how to phrase what she wanted to say next without hurting Tate. 

“...Did you know that this could happen?”

Her question hung in the air for a few moments as the ghostly boy tried to understand what she meant. Then he gasped, an unintentional inhalation of breath that he no longer needed to survive.

“Listen to me. I would never, ever have been so careless if I had known that this could happen. I would never hurt you like that. Never. Because I love you. And if you love someone, you should never hurt them.”

Tears began to flow from the corners of his dark brown eyes, a brown so rich and bold that they were almost black. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

He started to back away, a motion that made Violet’s heart drop in her slender chest.

“Don’t leave!” she cried.

Within moments they were entangled in each other’s arms, a cacophony of love and pain and fear for what was yet to come. All they knew in that instant was that they had each other, and that was a very good place to start.

* * *

Weeks went by, and before long Violet had reached the end of her first trimester. Her growing abdomen was the fixation of every single undead entity in the house, none more so than Nora, who would stare at Violet every chance she could get until she was caught and then disappear in an Art Deco blur. Such attention was more than she could say for her father, who hadn’t spoken a single word to her or Tate since the night that he found out. Tate had braced himself for Dr. Harmon’s wrath when he showed up for his next appointment, only to be met with a quick “I can’t treat you anymore” and the door slammed in his face. Vivien, after getting over the initial shock of oh my god, my fifteen year old daughter is pregnant, made it her mission to keep Violet and the baby as healthy and cared for as possible. Violet knew that her mother’s motivation in doing as such was knowing that she would never have a baby again, but was grateful for the support nonetheless.

The three-month mark had not been met without difficulty. What started off as morning sickness soon turned into morning, afternoon, and night sickness. Violet’s bouts of nausea left her too exhausted to do much more than crawl back into bed, leading to her and her mom coming to the decision that it would be best for her to continue her education on a home-bound program for the rest of her pregnancy. Violet envisioned spending the entire day playing card games and listening to Nirvana with Tate during this this welcome departure from high school hell, but oftentimes had to settle for him holding her until she fell asleep and got the rest she so desperately needed. 

The morning of her 12-week doctor’s appointment, Violet woke up feeling better than she had in a long time. She rolled over onto her other side and smiled at Tate, who had taken to sitting by her bed rather than on it at night so that she could have the entirety of the mattress to herself. The blonde gave a hesitant smile back, eyes clouded with his usual mix of care and concern for his girlfriend.

“How are you feeling today?” 

Violet stretched and eased herself up into a sitting position.

“Good, oddly enough. I don’t feel like I need to puke my guts out.”

“That’s always a good start, right?”

The girl laughed. Tate’s aforementioned hesitant smile morphed into a genuine one, taking over his entire face and spanning from ear to ear.

“C’mon. You’ve got a big day ahead of you, remember?”

“I remember. I really wish that you could come with me.”

“Me too. But you’ve got your mom, and you can bring me back a... what’s it called? A mammogram?”

Violet snorted.

“I think you mean sonogram. A mammogram is a breast exam.”

Tate smirked, causing the girl to realize that he wasn’t mistaken after all.

“Bonus points if you let me give you one of those later.”

Violet rolled her eyes and proceeded to get ready for the appointment.

* * *

The OB-GYN’s waiting room felt more like a spa than a doctor’s office. The beaming receptionist had offered coffee to Mrs. Harmon and prenatal tea to Violet, all while soft flute music piped through a hidden speaker. Vivien hummed to herself as she poured through a Pottery Barn Baby catalogue, bookmarking pages of hypoallergenic blankets and finely crafted wooden mobiles. Violet just stared at her feet, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to do as such for very much longer. 

“Violet?”

A nurse dressed in pink scrubs, wearing the same almost fake-looking smile as the receptionist, beckoned them through a door and down a long hallway. The appointment room, identical to the one she had been seen in during her first appointment, was decidedly more sterile than the waiting room. It was outfitted with all of the things the teen was used to seeing at the doctors and another, decidedly terrifying aspect: stirrups. Violet gave a little shudder to herself and sat on the table, crossing her legs as tightly as possible.

“You must be Violet.”

The Harmons turned toward the door, where a beautiful woman in a lab coat was standing. Her hair was tightly braided into neat cornrows, and her mahogany skin shone in the sunlight that streamed in from a nearby window.

“I’m Dr. Taylor. Dr. Montgomery has taken a leave of absence, so I’ll be taking you on as my patient for the rest of your pregnancy. You’re here for your 12-week appointment, correct?”

Violet nodded. The doctor looked behind her for a moment and then shut the door.

“Is it just you and your mom today? No father of the child?”

“He... couldn’t be here. It’s not that he isn’t involved, he just... couldn’t come.”

Violet had felt a sudden need to jump to Tate’s defense. After all, it wasn’t his fault that he couldn’t leave the house. Vivien looked at her daughter quizzically, causing the girl to remember that she still wasn’t supposed to be seeing Tate. Violet shrugged and turned her attention back to the doctor, who was explaining what she would be doing for the duration of the appointment. 

“...And after I check your cervix, I’m going to have our ultrasound technician take a look at your baby’s position and make sure everything is progressing like it should. Is that ok?”

Violet nodded. In the moments following she was quite glad that Tate hadn’t been able to come, as she felt like she was at her weakest and most vulnerable while the doctor completed the exam. A few moments later, she heard a slight rap on the door and then in came the technician, wheeling a portable ultrasound machine in with her. The brown-haired girl couldn’t help but wince once the squirt of cool jelly hit her slightly protruding stomach. The technician tapped a few keys and carefully moved the wand around.

“Let’s see... There we go.”

Violet turned her head towards the screen and looked where the technician was pointing. There was a perfectly formed shadow of a baby- a sight so pure and divine that a couple of tears sprang to her eyes. Then she noticed something odd at the bottom of the screen.

“Why does it have a third foot?”

The technician chewed on her lip thoughtfully and moved the wand slightly downwards. In an instant, she broke out into an excited smile.

“That’s not a third foot... That’s another baby. Congrats, Violet. You’re having twins.”

The world seemed to spin around her. It had taken her months to work up to the idea of having one baby at fifteen, but two? Two was a big number. Two meant double the cribs, double the strollers, double the sleepless nights. But two also meant yet another part of Tate that she got to bring into the world, a fact in itself that she found joy in.

“Why weren’t we able to see both babies at the last appointment?” Mrs. Harmon demanded. The technician moved the wand again, a note of concern in her brow.

“Baby number two appears to be almost completely obstructed by the first one. It’s only by chance that we happened to see the corner of its membrane on the scan.”

This deeply troubled Violet.

“Is the second one going to be okay?”

The technician looked toward Dr. Taylor, who moved closer to Violet and gently took her hand.

“While it’s true the first fetus is blocking the other fetus from receiving certain nutrients, this problem will is usually correct itself when the babies begin to move more frequently.”

“And if it doesn’t?”

Dr. Taylor gave her a reassuring smile.

“Let’s cross that bridge if and only if we get there. For now, I want you to focus on getting plenty of rest and making sure you stay as healthy as possible for the benefit of all three of you.”

Violet nodded her head and looked towards her mom, who was trying very hard to conceal the worry on her face. The doctor and technician proceeded to leave the room, leaving behind strict instructions for diet and self care as well as an ultrasound print out. The youngest Harmon looked again at the image, her second charge just barely visible in the corner of the shot. The once-heavenly looking shadow of the first baby now looked much more ominous than before. The second one’s tiny foot, so much smaller than the first’s, seemed to be reaching out for help in the presence of someone -or something- evil. A chill ran down Violet’s spine, remaining there until long after she fell asleep that night in Tate’s arms.

**Please let me know what you guys think so far, and bookmark and leave kudos if you haven’t already! I’m definitely having way too much fun with this ;)**

**-greysweatshirts**


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